


Just A Scratch...And Another...And Another...

by QueenoftheHobbits



Series: Soft Thighs Series [21]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 1940s Bucky, F/M, ends a little angsty, mentions of medical stuff because of that, nurse reader, overweight reader, plus size reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-19 17:15:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7370554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenoftheHobbits/pseuds/QueenoftheHobbits
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You’re stationed in England as a nurse, Sergeant James Barnes is in England for his last minute training before being shipped out to the war...and he always seems to come to you about any little bump or scrape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just A Scratch...And Another...And Another...

**Author's Note:**

> *Also known sulfanilamide  
> **Physical training

Growing up you’d never really wanted to be a nurse, people probably would have told you you couldn’t be one anyway...would have criticised you for wanting to go into a professional of health when you were overweight, and soft and round, and probably, according to them, didn’t look after your own health. They’d have told you that you wouldn’t be able to physically meet the demands of the job and that most men would rather a prettier, thinner women hovering over their bed. 

But that was growing up, and that was nasty people who you’d eventually learnt should not and could not define you, and trap you into a little box and stop you doing what wanted and couldn’t stop you from succeeding. That was growing up before there was another world war, before you felt the need and the call to help and do something more than just factory work which while incredibly important just didn’t seem to suit you. So instead you joined the nursing corps...and you proved everyone wrong. You proved that you could meet the physical demands of long days on your feet, that you could care for someone else no matter your weight or fitness, that men and women both enjoyed having you by their bedside because you were kind and friendly and because they felt safe with you as their nurse. You proved all those people who would have discouraged you growing up wrong and you found a calling, a skill and career you were good at and that while distressing at times was also fulfilling. 

Even more so when you finished training and got your orders, which had taken you to a lot of places, you’d seen the front line and the aftermath left behind and honestly finally being stationed in a little village in the South of England was a relief after all that and wasn’t actually that bad for a military nurse during such a war. You only really dealt with scrapes and bruises that the soldiers, in the last stages of their training before being shipped out to France or other European countries, received or you’d volunteer at the local military hospital and do the rounds for those who’d returned wounded from the war. It was better than being in a field hospital in France waiting to be bombed...and actually it became a place you were rather fond of after a certain Sergeant by the name of James Barnes turned up...and then continued to turn up almost every other week when you were on duty manning the medical cabin. 

_You’d been cleaning up the supplies closet, checking that everything was organised and stacked correctly and that the new supplies had been recorded...because God knew that most of the other nurses weren’t very keen on administration. Not that you could really blame them._

_“50 lots of Iodine, 100 lots of gauze...” Stock taking wasn’t interesting, but it was important, if someone got seriously hurt and you didn’t have what you needed then you’d all get it in the neck and someone would be in some serious pain until they got taken to somewhere where they could be treated. So you stood there on a little step ladder in a crowded cupboard ticking off your clip board as you went._

_“Where the hell did they put the sulfa* powder?” You were so incredibly caught up in finding and counting the sulfa and other resources that you didn’t notice a soldier enter the cabin until he was calling out for you while you teetered on the little step ladder that had seen better days._

_“Nurse?” You nearly fell off the step ladder you were standing on and no doubt would have, had a pair of hands not found your waist to hold you up...unfortunately there wasn’t much to grab yourself to save yourself from falling, but then you supposed you wouldn’t have nearly fell if someone hadn’t scared you like that._

_“Yes?” You pulled away from the hands, twisting on the ladder to look down at whoever had been calling for you and had caught you from your own fall. You saw an admittedly handsome soldier, a sergeant judging by his chevrons. You dusted off your hands, looking down at the brown haired man, he seemed kind...he had that look about him that said he probably caused a lot of trouble._

_“A private,” He pointed a thumb behind him back into the main area of the medical cabin where the cots were and where patients were kept, “He fell over during PT** and uh, he cut his leg up on some wood that was lying about.”_

_“I’ll be out in just a minute, sergeant.” You finished ticking off a couple of things on your clipboard before making the move to step down from your place and back to the floor._

_“Barnes. James Barnes, although people call me Bucky” Once you were on solid ground it was rather apparent that James Barnes was an incredibly tall man or at least compared to you. You smoothed down the skirt of your uniform (completely impractical at times if anyone was to ask you), your hands smoothing over your wide hips and the apron tied around your soft, round midsection._

_“Y/N Y/L/N, although hopefully you won’t end up here enough to really need to know that.” It wasn’t that you didn’t want to see the handsome soldier again, although other than his looks you were currently somewhat indifferent, but you weren’t exactly going to encourage him getting hurt and turning up at your station all the time. Men were getting injured left, right and centre simply training, you hated to think what awaited them on the Front...especially after experiencing it first hand yourself._

_You collected a few things you figured you might need, if the soldier in question really had cut his leg open he may be in need of stitches or may be just in need of a good old fashioned plaster instead. Either way, you collected a few things from the cupboard before stepping out and placing them on the bedside table next to the cot of the private in question._

_“I’m going to have a look at your leg, Private...” You looked closely at the name sown onto his jacket, “Earl, please let me know if I hurt you in anyway.” You waited for the boy to nod before taking a pair of scissors to the trousers of the leg in question, it was soaked in blood and would need replacing after this anyway._

_The wound itself quite clearly needed stitches, but other than that there weren’t any other issues you could see, you set about doing your job, almost hyper aware of the Sergeant hovering by your shoulder. It didn’t feel judgemental, or distrusting, rather curious...but it did stretch the usual bounds of what was appropriate distance between you and a man around the training camp. The head nurse would probably have had a heart attack had she been there._

_You cleaned up what mess had been made and quickly scribbled a note on a piece of paper, paper was in no short supply around base, reports always needed to be filed, medical records kept up to date and so on. “There, all done. Sergeant, see that his CO gets this note, he won’t be able to do PT until those stitches come out, if he has a problem with that let me know and i’ll talk with him personally.” You handed off the note, finding it hard to really look at James Barnes without feeling like a teenage girl, honestly...you were a grown women._

_“Will do, ma’am.” You resisted the urge to preen at the title, you rarely got that amount of respect. You got called all sorts of names, mostly men referred to you as a broad which was hardly flattering and you’d on more than one occasion made threats that you’d stitch them up without being gentle. So it was more than nice to be given respect especially when you worked bloody hard. You instead focused the urge into smoothing down your skirt again._

You remember him helping the Private hobble out, you remember feeling like a fool for being so utterly attracted to a man you didn’t even know! Also a soldier, it was a fool’s errand to even contemplate that sort of relationship during a war...but you’d struggled for weeks to get blue eyes out of your head. You’d see Bucky around the camp, at dinners and while he was walking to the showers. Sometimes you could pretend you hadn’t seen him, other times you couldn’t, he’d smile and wink and his fellow soldiers would jeer...and you’d scurry away embarrassed.

You weren’t supposed to have any sort of relation with any of the men and you certainly didn’t want to grow attached while they were waiting to be shipped off to some part of Europe where any one of them could die...but it became increasingly hard as Sergeant Barnes found increasingly ridiculous excuses to come to the medical cabin and always when you were on duty...it was rather endearing. Even if it sometimes got you in trouble. 

_“Ma’am, you’re looking even more beautiful than the last time I saw you” And he made it increasingly hard when he flirted with you, winked, and smiled like a giddy little school boy. It was unfortunately and admittedly absolutely lovely to have the male gaze be something admiring and praising rather than defiant or judgemental. A lot of men got arsey when they got hurt and had to be treated, nine times out of ten their insults were about your weight and while you shrugged them off, it was nice to have someone look at the width of your body and the roundness of your stomach and be praising...to look at you in the same light as a lot of men looked at some of the Hollywood starlets and fancy singers._

_“Sergeant, what have you done this time?” You were already grabbing his arms, pulling his sleeves up, looking over the limbs and trying to find some sort of burn or bruise or anything._

_“I feel sick.” The grin on his face when you looked up was enough to tell you that he didn’t feel sick, and that he was only here because of you...which was downright adorable._

_“Oh really? And what pray tell do you suggest I do about it?” You let go of the arm you’d been checking over, he had lovely arms as well. It was a crime that you had to draw the attention of one of the most attractive and sweet guys around...your head nurse had even been questioning your relationship with Bucky and it was hard to deny the fact you were interested even though you shouldn’t be._

_“Kiss it better, ma’am?” The cheeky smile told you he didn’t actually think you would, probably expected you to roll your eyes and tell him to get his ass back outside and back to his job...but you were alone, no one would see, and quite frankly you’d been thinking about kissing James Barnes since you first met him._

_So rules and common sense be damned you stepped closer to him, your hands coming up to cup his jaw. The look he gave you was one of shock and it was awfully enjoyable to see when he always came across as so sure and confident all the time. It was nerve wrecking, the few seconds before you pressed your lips against his, and then it was blissful._

_It wasn’t a long kiss, but short and brief, a rush of your lips against his and your hands still cupping his jaw. His own resting on your hips, a gentle pressure holding onto them and then you were both pulling away and footsteps could be heard just outside forcing you to distance yourself and act as if you didn’t just have the best kiss of your life._

_“Well, sergeant i’d say you’re good to go” Your words came just as the head nurse Ms. Blythe entered, she ignored the two of you and the look you shared._

_“Thank you, ma’am.” It was curt, appropriate, but the gleam in his eye and the slight bounce to his step told you that Bucky more than approved and that you’d almost definitely never get rid of him now. Not that you wanted to._

From that moment on Bucky found even more reason to be around you and not just while you were on duty, he would find you on the weekends when you both had weekend passes and would buy you a drink down the local pub or he’d turn up at your quarters and sneak you out in the middle of the night despite your protests...and it was exhilarating, but most of all you loved being around him. He was sweet and funny and he treated you with respect...Everything about Bucky Barnes made your heart jump in your chest. Even more so when he would praise you out of nowhere. 

_You’d been walking in the village you were stationed in with Bucky one Sunday, there were no rules about the two of you spending time together outside of the camp and certainly not on weekends when you two could do as you pleased...Weekends with Bucky always found new surprises, one time he’d given the local children all his bars of chocolate he’d saved up from his rations which had warmed your heart and made you fall even further for him. Another time you’d been dragged to a small pond and shoved in the cold water before he jumped in behind you...and this time well, you’d find out._

_You’d ended up in the little woods just outside the village, not really a forest, just a small thicket of trees, but it was private and it was calm and relaxing. You ended up with your back against a tree, Bucky leaning over you, one hand on the tree, the other gently caressing your round cheek in a way that made your gaze soften entirely and completely. Bucky had on more than one occasion expressed his love for parts of you without saying a word, he did more through actions then anything else...and while the two of you weren’t in a relationship there was something going on...and it amazing to have these private moments where you could almost act like any normal boy and girl._

_“I’m gonna marry you one day.” You weren’t entirely sure what to say to that...you swallowed heavily instead._

_“James...”_

_“After all this, i’m going to find you again and ask you to marry me.” The hand on your cheek slipped down to your hip, a thumb lightly rubbing back and forth against the cotton of your dress. He was serious, he was absolutely dead serious, not just being silly, and you could see it in the back of his eyes. He would marry you at the end of this war if he could and that was both amazing and terrifying because what if he didn’t make it through the war? What if you didn’t make it through the war? It would just be another plan and another dream lost that no one else would know about._

_“And why’s that? Of all the women in the world why would you want to marry me?” It was more teasing on your behalf then self-deprecating, by this point you knew Bucky was interested in you, as interested as you were in him...god, you wished there wasn’t a war on. That the two of you could be happy and do your own thing. Get married, walk in the park, having picnics and buy a house. Be normal._

_“You’re you.” You huffed a laugh, hands sliding across his shoulders to rest your arms around his neck, “I mean...Y/N, you’re amazing; smart, funny, kind, beautiful...I think i’m falling in love with you, doll.” It stopped you for a moment, you’d never really defined how either of you felt, just snuck around, kissed, and spent time together when you could...while you tried to provide him with as much knowledge of battlefield medicine as you could in case he needed it...and you hoped he’d never need it but you knew the odds weren’t especially good for that. It scared you every night not that you told him...it scared you that soon he’d get his orders and be fighting for his life and for the lives of his comrades...and that you’d probably still be in England putting plasters on little boo boos._

_“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing that i’d probably say yes...because i’m kinda falling in love with you too, sergeant.” You didn’t expect him to rush forward and kiss you, but you weren’t unhappy with it. You giggled into the kiss, arms tightening around his neck, while his wrapped around your waist and pulled you tight against him. If there was a moment you wished you could have stayed in it was that one._

And then reality came crashing back down again and a few weeks later his orders came, the 107th were moving out to Europe...and they probably wouldn’t be back in England any time soon. 

“I’m gonna miss you...but i’ll be back.” Neither of you could touch, you were out in the middle of the camp...appropriate distance had to be kept...and it hurt because all you wanted to do was run into his arms and beg him to stay, to ask for a transfer to a less dangerous position...even though you knew he’d never do that, not even for you.

“You better, you’ve still got to marry me, remember?” Your voice shook, you face was wet, but you refused to acknowledge the tears...you couldn’t break now, you had to say goodbye. Whether he’d proposed or not, for all intents and purposes Bucky was already your fiancé, the man you intended to marry after the war...and he might not even come back.

“I don’t think I could ever forget that, doll.” He was trying to put on a smile, you knew it wasn’t just for your benefit but probably for his own...it felt like you both were playing a part in front of an audience. Don’t touch, don’t let them see how much you care...don’t let them. But who could hide that much fear and pain and sadness in the face of what could be death? 

“Please...please stay safe...and write to me? I...I’m going to miss you so much, James...” You didn’t say how scared you were, how absolutely terrified you were that he’d not make it back or that he’d get severely hurt while fighting...that he’d become just another stain of blood on the ground and another dog tag to be sent home to his mother. You didn’t say it, but you could tell by his blue eyes that he knew.

“I know...I love you.” The last face to face words you’d ever exchange...the others would be written in scribbled out letters, dirtied with mud and dirt from battle fields and tears from your own eyes. You’d end up in France again, your hands covered in the blood of boys who just wanted to go home, and he’d...he’d end up falling off a train and you’d never know...because they’d never tell a nurse who wasn’t even family. You just guessed...the letters stopped and you knew, you knew he was gone. 


End file.
